Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

What is it about a Gothic cathedral? I could walk around the outside of Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris a dozen times and never get tired of seeing new angles, bits of grandeur, gargoyles, windows. At the eastern point of the Île de la Cité, Notre Dame dominates. Completed around 1345, Notre Dame has survived many rounds of renovation and vandalism (some would argue these are one and the same), and still dazzles.

Perhaps it’s not a surprise I like the back side (more accurately, the east facade) better than the front. So much gingerbread to absorb from this side, a great view of the spire, plus a nice garden and tree cover here in the Square Jean XXIII.

Three famous people are immortalized in this shot. They’re hiding in the shadows.

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